


Out of Darkness (into the light)

by orphan_account



Series: A Boquet of Lovers [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Kirk, BAMF Spock, BAMF Sulu, Canon Divergence- Into Darkness, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Jim Kirk is having a bad day, Khan is a motherfucker, M/M, McCoy is Grumpy, Multi, Polyamory, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek: Into Darkness Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 10:30:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Khan makes a power play and the Enterprise crew respond in kind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Darkness (into the light)

> “The measure of our sacrifice is the measure of our love” – English Proverb

\--

Khan’s hands come together and Admiral Marcus’ head pulverises with a sickening crunch that makes Kirk pale and swallow his disgust at the sheer bloody barbarism of it. His daughter screams: part fear, part pain and all anguish. 

Fighting back his gag reflex, Jim quietly turns over onto his back. To his left he can just make out Scotty passed out on the floor- his discarded phaser only a few metres away from Jim’s hand. Taking advantage of Khan’s distraction, Jim begins to crawl forward towards the weapon. He’s barely a hands span away from it when a boot slams down to connect solidly with his outstretched hand. 

Jim screams, feeling the bones in his hand crushed under Khan’s superhuman strength. He’s barely stopped screaming before Khan’s hoisting him up by his shirt and throwing him across the room and into the sensor relay panel. Kirk rebounds and hits the floor hard. He rolls onto his back, coughing blood and attempts to struggle to his feet. 

He gets half way there before Khan’s on him, pressing him back against the control panel with a hand at his throat. Jim struggles and claws at the hand, succeeding only in ripping the nails on his good hand to bloody nubs. Khan’s face is a vision of malice: pupils blown, face set in a vicious animal snarl. His fingers tighten, nails drawing blood, and just as Jim’s vision’s starting to go black Khan drops him. 

Hitting the floor hard, Jim wheezes and scrabbles instinctively for the phantom fingers at his throat. A mocking laughs rings in the air. 

“Pathetic” Khan sneers, turning towards the navigation station and stalking away.

On his knees, Jim gasps for air and coughs hoarsely, meeting the watery eyes of Carol Marcus across the room. Jim tries to communicate as best he can without words, moving his eyes deliberately towards the door- telling her to run. She eyes Khan’s back warily but nods at him and begins to crawl away.

Kirk feels a spark of hope as he watches her move, favouring her good leg. If she can get off of the bridge and find a way to contact the Enterprise, and Jim is able to lower the shields--even for a minute--they might stand a chance of getting out of this alive. Despite his weakened body, the thought gives Kirk strength and he manages to get to his feet and face Khan.

Khan finishes whatever he’s doing at the helm and Kirk feels a spike of alarm when he realises Carol is directly in his line of sight if he turns around. She must realise it too because she freezes and sends him a terrified look when Khan makes to do so. 

Kirk doesn’t think, he just throws the feeble strength of his body across the bridge towards Scotty’s phaser. Khan’s attention rivets to him and he does a 360. Kirk just manages to get his hand around the grip before he’s kicked in the stomach so hard his vision blackens and he tastes blood again. Ignoring the bloom of agony in his midsection, Kirk raises his phaser directly to Khan’s face and takes aim. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Carol move towards the door and out of sight. 

Kirk juts his chin out proudly. Good girl, he thinks.

“Don’t move” Kirk says, his voice little more than a wet gurgle, “or I’ll kill you.”

Khan chuckles, smiling cruelly, “Will you now?” 

Khan stalks forwards and Kirk has no choice but to fire. He takes aim and lets loose a perfect chest-shot that Kirk knows will kill the man within a second.

Impossibly, the kill shot doesn’t even injure Khan. It barely even slows him. Kirk keeps shooting, blast after blast until Khan is right in his face, yanking him up by the collar until his toes graze the floor. Khan throws his weapon aside with an ugly sneer.

He bends forward until their noses almost touch and Kirk has to fight not to flinch away.

“How do you propose to do that?” he hisses, eyes wild and crazed. 

“I’ll find a way” he says, holding Khan’s eyes determinedly, “I always do.”

Khan laughs again and reels him in further, fisting Kirk’s command gold tighter.

“You’re weak Captain Kirk.” Khan smiles and it’s a cruel, beautiful thing, “Men like me don’t fall to men like you.”

“Maybe not” Jim agrees, smiling bloodily, “but you always fall.”

Khan’s eyes flood with rage and without warning he changes his grip and slams Kirk down into the floor. Jim screams as his ribs break and his breastbone fractures as the floor splinters around him. He sucks in a pained breath and is relieved to find that his breathing is largely unimpaired. Pain ricochets through his body and he struggles to turn over in his crater. He’s half expecting another body slam or maybe another gut shot when he turns over, but to his surprise Khan is back in the Captain’s chair looking eerily calm and contemplating. 

Jim swallows his unease and glares at Khan. “Either kill me or let me go back to my ship Khan” he croaks acidly, abruptly tired of Khan’s sick little games, “but make a fucking decision you coward. Don’t toy with me.” 

Khan smiles, slow and malicious, “I’ll admit I misjudged you Captain” he leans forward in the Captain’s chair and slides his gaze up and down Kirks body, appraising. “Though your body is as weak as a mere child’s, your spirit is that of a warrior.”

His smile turns positively shark-like. “Not that it will do you any good” he stands, walks forward and plants his foot firmly against Kirk’s chest. Jim winces as his fractured bones protest violently and he coughs up blood- painting his lips red, “after all, what is a warrior without his strength?” 

Khan presses his foot down harder and Jim grits his teeth against the pain. Abruptly, Khan steps back and yanks Kirk upwards by the arm. He gets up in his face, sneering, “nothing” he hisses, backhanding Kirk across the face and sending him sprawling. 

Vision spinning, Kirk barely registers Khan’s hand in his hair, clenching tight and pulling until he’s being dragged across the floor, his scalp a cap of fire. Khan reclines in the Captain’s chair and drops Kirk at his feet, between his legs. Jim moans and grabs at his head. 

“You won’t get away with this” Kirk grits out and Khan is about to reply, lips curling into a vicious sneer when they’re interrupted.

An alarm blares overhead and Khan turns towards the central controls, attention momentarily diverted towards the computer flashing ‘WEAPONS MALFUNCTION’ in large block letters. 

Carol, Kirk thinks triumphantly and then remembers, shit SHIT the shields.

Kirk tracks Khan’s furious gait across the bridge until he’s way out of reach before moving. Jim seizes his chance, leaping towards the helm and disabling shields with three short key-strokes. 

From the opposite end of the bridge Khan roars and rips the computer panel out of the wall, throwing it across the room. The ‘WEAPONS MALFUNCTION’ alarm flickers and dies along with the computer console. 

“Come on, come on Spock” Jim whispers as he watches Khan pace. He’s distracted… for now. Jim doesn’t know how long it’ll last.

Kirk reaches over and hefts an unconscious Scotty into his arms, clipping his phaser onto his belt. A few seconds later his extremities begin to tingle and Jim stares at Khan, willing him not to turn around from where he’s seething at the science console.

As if the thought is all that’s needed to beckon him, Khan turns back towards Jim just as transporter energy begins to surround him in gold light. His eyes slit and Jim freezes like a trapped animal.

Khan screams in fury, leaping towards Jim and Jim realises what’s going to happen before it does. Unlocking his muscles, he pushes Scotty out of the way of the attack and braces himself against the helm. 

Kirk and Khan collide, rolling to a stop just as Jim begins to disappear. Khan growls and manages to pull a knife from his belt and thrust the curved blade right into Jim’s heart before the transporter energy takes him.

The last thing Kirk sees before darkness overtakes him is Khan’s sneering face. 

“I’ll see you soon Captain.”

\--

“Their shields are down Commander!” Chekov announces, typing furiously at his console. 

Spock straightens in the Captain’s chair. “Can we lock onto their signal?”

“Yes sir” Chekov says. “Ready to beam sir. Stand by for coordinates.”

Spock nods and punches at his comm. “Transporter bay, three to beam aboard. Stand by for coordinates.”

“Yes Commander” a voice acknowledges and Spock watches with restrained impatience and more than a little anxiety as Chekov calculates the coordinates. He sends them through and Spock doesn’t waste a minute longer.

“Mr Sulu, you have the conn. Retain standard orbit and comm me when Khan responds” Spock says and doesn’t wait to hear his response. 

Spock is in the turbo lift and on his way to the transporter room in record time, barely resisting the urge to run. He settles for speed-walking and doesn’t acknowledge the crew members who stop to salute him between ship repairs and maintenance. 

Arriving at the transporter bay barely a minute later, he is just in time to see the Captain slump again the transporter pad. Spock makes the necessary deductions: Carol Marcus, unharmed except for a broken fibula, Mr Scott unconscious but otherwise unharmed, Captain Kirk…

Captain, Spock thinks and runs.

The blood loss is severe, but he has a pulse. Using his hands to stem the blood flow as best he can, Spock turns to the frightened looking ensign at the transporter console.

“Get Doctor McCoy” Spock says and when the ensign continues to be frozen in shock, “Now!”

The woman scrambles for her comm with a shaky, “Aye Commander.” 

Kirk’s eyes flutter, but don’t open and Spock feels the drop in his pulse before he sees his face pale significantly with the continuing blood loss. Spock swallows harshly and finds his throat unacceptably dry. He regulates his body condition accordingly. 

“Captain” Spock says, attempting to rouse him without moving his hands from where they are preserving what remains of Kirk’s life blood. “You must open your eyes for me Captain.”

Kirk groans but otherwise doesn't move and Spock purses his lips in a concession to worry and annoyance, looking over his shoulder.

Where is Doctor McCoy? 

In answer to the silent question, Spock is suddenly pushed out of the way by hands he didn’t notice in his single-minded focus on the Captain. 

“Get out of my way” McCoy growls and Spock moves to let him have optimal access to Kirk’s body while not removing his hands from the Captain’s chest where they are stemming the flow of blood.

“The Captain has lost a significant amount of blood due to an arterial wound in his chest” Spock says and watches McCoy bare his teeth and glare at him. It is easier than Spock anticipated, seeing the fear behind that look.

“Tell me something I don’t know” McCoy hisses and beckons Nurse Chapel. Together they drag Jim to his feet, dislodging Spock’s hands.

Spock makes a movement forward to replace them and McCoy snaps at him. “We don’t have time man; we need to get him to the med-bay.”

The three of them rush out and medics move in behind them to deal with Dr Marcus and Mr Scott. Spock walks two paces behind McCoy and Nurse Chapel, outwardly composed and inwardly--privately-- panicking. 

McCoy stops him when they reach the door to the theatre. McCoy lets the Nurses whisk Jim away and set up the operating room.

“You can’t come in” McCoy tells him and predicating Spock’s argument, holds up his hand to stop the flow of logic before it starts. “We can’t take any risks with sanitation when he’s this far gone.” He says looking distinctly harried and uncomfortable. Spock’s heart thumps loudly in his side and for once he is unable to regulate it. 

McCoy looks over his shoulder, monitoring the situation behind him. From what Spock can see, the nursing staff seem to be disrobing the captain and hooking him up to various IV’s-- preparing him for surgery. He’s still losing a large quantity of blood, Spock notes. The thought leaves Spock uncomfortable. The Captain’s mortality is always a sensitive subject, but never has it been brought into such stark relief before. 

The worry lines around McCoy’s eyes deepen and Spock is abruptly reminded that McCoy is going to yet again perform a miracle--or exhaust himself trying. Spock feels the bewildering, yet familiar stirrings of respect for McCoy and nods jerkily at him, acquiescing.

Far from looking relieved, McCoy only scowls harder. “I mean it pointy. Stay out of here.”

McCoy goes to close the door in Spock’s face and the perceived action makes the Vulcan bristle. At the last second though, McCoy seems to think better of it because he opens the door all the way again to look at Spock gravely. His look, though, is undercut with a touch of fragile understanding that makes Spock nervous and uncomfortable-- and perhaps a little bit grateful.

“He’ll be alright Spock” McCoy says, clasping Spock’s shoulder companionably; like the Captain would do. Spock shivers.

“I’ll kill myself to make him alright again.”

“Doctor” Chapel calls and McCoy removes his hand to slip on his sanitary mask and gloves. 

Spock doesn’t tell the doctor that his suicide would leave him in no position to help the Captain, or that he can’t possibly assure Spock that the Captain will live through this surgery when the statistics, the math, says he will not.

Spock simply says, “Okay.”

\--

Spock’s standing stock-still in the middle of the waiting room when Nyota finds him. He’s staring into space at nothing and no one and he doesn’t hear her come in. She wraps her arms around him from behind and burrows her forehead into his back. 

Spock stiffens, but doesn’t pull away. 

She can’t face him, wants to comfort him, but needs comfort herself.  
She was monitoring his frequency, she wants to say. She thought she heard him die, she wants to say. Instead she stifles a sob and finally lets herself cry the quiet, miserable tears she was holding back on the bridge.

His shirt’s starting to soak through and it must be uncomfortable, but he doesn’t move and his breathing is as strong and even as her Captains might not be right now. His heart beats robust and rhythmic in his side like her lovers might never beat again. 

Nyota makes an anguished sound at the thought and Spock finally turns in the circle of her arms, banding his own around her in return and tucking her head under his chin. 

He doesn’t say anything as he strokes her hair soothingly and for this she is grateful. 

It takes a while (how long she isn’t certain), but she calms eventually. Her wracking sobs turn into tears, turn into little hitching breaths, turn into oppressive quiet and watering eyes.

That’s the thing with her and Spock, she realises, why they’d never work on their own. Her arms tighten around Spock reflexively, possessively-- too much quiet.

They need Jim: loud, chaotic Jim Kirk to disrupt the easy flow of their relationship and make it lurid and passionate. They stabilize, he escalates. He pushes, they restrain. That’s the way they are as a triad—it’s the way they need to be.

They can’t do this without him, her and Spock. They don’t work together long-term without him.

Jim Kirk has to live, has to come back to her, to them. There is no other option.

Nyota steps back abruptly and looks up at Spock who meets her eyes with affected Vulcan blandness. Not good then, she thinks grimly and pushes down her grief until it is nothing but the barest ache in her chest, a whisper in the back of her mind. 

No distractions, Nyota thinks, just facts. 

“What do you know?” she asks and watches Spock’s face shut down further. 

“Doctor McCoy informed me before they commenced reparative surgery to the Captain’s damaged arterial wall that the Captain was in dire condition” he monotones.

At her stricken look, Spock adds, “He did however seem unjustifiably confident in his ability to make the necessary repairs and ensure the Captains survival though the damage was noticeably severe.”

Nyota nods and jumps when McCoy walks into the room, slow and obviously weary. They both perk up, looking absurdly hopeful and Nyota sees McCoy wince. 

Oh no, Nyota thinks and swallows harshly. The beginnings of tears bead in her eyes again. She knows that look, saw it on the face of her mother’s doctor when she died the week after her 56th birthday. 

“Doctor?” she asks.

“He’s alive” McCoy says and before the rush of relief can fully set-in, continues, “I don’t know how long I can keep him that way.”

McCoy looks stricken and Spock straightens beside her like there are iron rods in his spine. 

McCoy looks at Spock and the look is strangely pleading. “We fixed the damage and it looked like he was out of the wood but then his body started rejecting fluids and he just keeps getting worse for no reason.”

McCoy runs a frustrated hand through his hair and Nyota speaks, voice hoarse. “What’s wrong with him?” she asks.

“That’s just the thing, I don’t know. The damage is repaired, he’s got enough blood back in his system. He should be getting better, but he’s just not. I don’t know what else to do, what else I can do.” McCoy shakes his head and at her side, Spock’s hand digs in painfully. She winces, but doesn’t say anything. Nyota welcomes the pain. 

Anything not to feel the hurt. 

“Perhaps” Spock says carefully, voice deliberately bland, “your best guess in regards to diagnosis and treatment would be appropriate in this case doctor.”

McCoy’s head snaps up from where he was cradling it and his eyes bug out. “What did you say?”

“Do not make me repeat myself doctor” Spock says, his face blank and severe at once. It makes Nyota shiver.

Silence. 

McCoy looks between them, obviously torn. His best guess might be wrong, might not even be ethically or medically possible to combat, but it would give them a chance. 

Nyota knows what Starfleet mandates be done at this point and it’s not this, not this wild goose chase to save a Captain beyond the point of saving. She watches McCoy waver anyway and seizes onto the faint slip of hope with both hands. 

“Please Len” she whispers finally and his eyes tick over to her, soft and sad with buried grief. She remembers in that moment what Jim and he are to each other and a new wave of sorrow overtakes her. Spock and she aren’t the only people who love and are loved by Jim Kirk. 

“Alright” he whispers, as close to resigned as McCoy ever gets and looks at them seriously, stepping in close. “I have a theory, but it’s mad and no other doctor in million light-years would believe it.”

Spock nods, accepting this easily. “Tell us” he says.

McCoy does.

\--

The Vengeance is a black monolith almost entirely blocking Sulu’s view of Earth. He can just see the seashell curve of the African coast and the cobalt-blue of open water past the apex of the ship, but not much else. It’s a shame really. He loves the view of Earth from space and having that god damn ship in his line of sight is making him unduly homicidal. 

Next to him, Chekov is hunched over his station, running calculations over and over to try and get a different result, a way onto that massive ship they haven’t thought of. It’s no use of course, they used the last of their power to beam back the Captain and crew. There’s no way. Even with Scotty back in action and seething over the Captain like the rest of them there’s no way. 

Even if they could get back aboard the ship, how would they defeat Khan? Sulu’s hands clench into fists. He wouldn’t be able to finish the man, but he’d give it a rearing hot go. Sulu fingers the retractable katana at his hip.

For Jim, he thinks with ardour. 

“Any luck?” Sulu asks Chekov even though he knows the answer. Chekov shakes his head miserably and looks at Sulu with wide, sad eyes. They share a moment of mutual: oh god. 

Sulu swallows and casually brushes Chekov’s hand with his own, as it’s the only comfort he can reasonably provide in public. The Captain, Jim, has always been good to them. Been a great lover and a better friend. They love him and that knowledge passes between them before blackening out into despair.

And now he’s as good as dead, Sulu thinks numbly.

Against his better judgement, Sulu squeezes Chekov’s hand and feels him squeeze back. 

\--

Scotty’s fiddling with the core override when he finds it, the auxiliary power relay, and sparks an idea. 

The idea is mad, but so is he. 

Should work, he thinks.

Scotty whips out his comm. “Commander” he says and waits. When no one answers, he groans and tries again. “Spock ya mad bastard, pick up!”

There’s a faint rustling at the other end before a voice chimes in, “Yes?”

Scotty knows it as the grief-weary, but recognisable voice of Uhura and he yelps in triumph. 

“Scotty?” she questions.

“I’ve got good news for ya sweet cheeks” he says and grins.

\--

“They’re hailing us!” the communications officer on bridge- Alvarez- announces and Sulu freezes, leaping out of the helmsman’s chair and reaching for his communicator. 

“Commander, Khan’s hailing us” he says, disquiet curling in his gut. 

“Understood, hold the transmission until my arrival.”

Sulu nods to Alvarez, “You heard the commander.”

“Aye Sir” he says and adjusts his earpiece. 

Sulu resettles himself in the helmsman’s chair, but can’t find it in himself to stop fidgeting. Chekov reaches over again and settles a hand on his knee, stilling him.

Sulu smiles at him tensely and Chekov looks back steadily, radiating a silent strength that Sulu clings to. “Relax Hikaru” he whispers, quiet enough to be unheard by all but Sulu. “We will get through zis.”

Sulu covers the hand on his knee and breathes deep. “Yes” he says, “we will.”

Commander Spock strides onto the bridge and settle into the Captain’s chair. Sulu wants to ask how the Captain is, but restrains the impulse. 

“On screen” Spock says, looking impassively over the bridge. 

Sulu tenses the moment Khan appears on screen, looking composed and smug in equal measure. Beside him, Chekov bristles and Sulu can almost hear the angry clack of his teeth. Sulu squeezes his hand harder and holds on tight.

“Commander Spock” Khan addresses with an easy smirk. “Where oh where is your irrepressible Captain?” he asks and it doesn’t sound like a question at all. Spock, to his credit, doesn’t even flinch.

“It is not prudent to answer such a question as I am confident you are well aware of the answer and to do so would be a waste of valuable time.” Spock says easily and Sulu watches Khan’s brow tick up.

“Of course” Khan allows and folds his hands in front of him. The familiar pose and Khan’s position on the Captain’s chair makes Sulu feel an odd mixture of sick, frustrated and angry. 

That man doesn’t deserve to be in a Captain’s chair, Sulu thinks viciously. 

“Why have you hailed the Enterprise?” Spock asks, mirroring Khan’s pose.

Khan smirks. “I’m sure you know that answer to that” he says, scolding, and his unearthly eyes sweep across the bridge. Khan makes a cooing noise in the back of his throat. “Oh how precious, they all look so sad” he says, voice dripping with false sweetness.

Khan smiles and it’s a manic, horrible thing. “How is the Captain” he asks, voice low and menacing, “did he enjoy my little gift?”

Because he’s watching, Sulu sees Spock’s hands tighten convulsively before they relax and he reclines in repose. “As he is not currently cognizant I am unable to comment on the state of his feelings towards your” Spock pauses and says carefully, “gift.”

Khan seems pleased about this. 

“Oh?” he says with faux-sadness. “What a pity. Though I do of course enjoy our chats commander, I must admit that I find the Captain’s particular brand of”- Khan waves a casual hand- “vigour far more stimulating.”

"It seems that you will have to do without the Captain's vigour at this moment in time and conduct your dealings with me" Spock says coolly.

Smiling, Khan leans forward. “If it were you on that cold slab, ready to be wheeled into the icy dark of the ship’s morgue, Kirk would comply with my demands.” Khan hisses, searching the commanders face with hungry eyes. 

Spock freezes and his knuckles go white against the arms of the Captain’s chair. Sulu swallows harshly.

“If you would inform me of your demands I would have the recourse of deciding that for myself.” Spock snaps, or gets as close to snapping as a Vulcan ever gets and Sulu watches Khan’s smile grow.

“My demands are simple commander. Return my crew and the Captain of the Enterprise to me.” Khan says and Sulu nearly reels back in shock.

Spock obviously shares the sentiment because his face turns stony and his lips thin. “No” he says. 

Khan doesn’t look surprised, but his confidence doesn’t dim. “I would rethink that if I were you Commander.” Khan says and there’s a secret behind his eyes that makes Sulu wary.

“Why should I” Spock says simply, refolding his hands and leaning forward. “I gain nothing by this act of diplomacy. Not only will you have liberated the Enterprise of its only bargaining chip, but you would also have our Captain. Neither of these thing benefits me in any way.”

Khan’s smile, when it comes, is less of a true smile and more of a perversion of one and the trepidation building within Sulu reaches new heights. 

“Because the poison running rampant through your Captain’s body is without a cure Mr Spock” Khan says. “I know because I designed it that way.”

Spock freezes and glares at Khan with something terrifying illuminating his eyes. From his position at the helm Sulu can feel his grief and hatred like a tangible force of nature and if he can see it, feel it, Khan must be able to as well. 

“But I can save him Mr Spock” Khan whispers and his eyes light with manic purpose. “I am the only one who can save him.”

Khan stands and approaches the hull, his face filling the view-screen. He cocks his head like a predator and seems to stare right into the heart of their Acting Captain. 

“Give Kirk to me Mr Spock. Give me my crew and I will save your Captain’s life.”

Sulu hears Chekov’s breath catch and what sounds like a hand flying to his slap over his mouth, but Sulu can’t bring himself to check. He’s riveted on Khan: the ethereal lightness of his eyes, the manic curve of his smile-- the whole fucking psychotic package. 

Spock, seated in the Captain’s chair, leans forward and stares Khan down. 

“Tell me, what do you get out of saving the life of your enemy?” Spock asks, blunt and severe. Sulu isn’t sure, but he thinks he sounds a little bit hopeful underneath it all.

Khan’s smiling, horrifying face fills up the screen. “The greatest gift of all Mr Spock” Khan says and at Spock’s raised eyebrow, “Sovereignty.”

Silence reigns and Sulu can hear his own frantic heartbeat in his ears. 

“Give me fifteen minutes to consider you proposal” Spock says and Khan smirks, slow and triumphant. 

“Ten” he says shortly before the signal cuts out and the bridge is plunged into renewed silence.

Spock stands without fanfare and smooths down his science tunic.

“All senior command staff are to meet in the Captain’s ready-room in two minutes. All non-essential crew are dismissed from the bridge and are to report to battle stations” he orders and Sulu salutes on instinct, the command in his voice is so insistent. 

Spock enters the turbo lift and moves out of sight.

Sulu looks at Chekov and finds the grim certainty in his face mirrored on his own. 

Whatever’s about to happen, Sulu thinks with an odd foreboding feeling, it’s not going to be good.

\--

**Author's Note:**

> Saw Into Darkness for the fifth (read: FIFTH!) time and decided I probably needed to write about all my feelings to get it out of my system.  
> Fuck you JJ Abrams. I love you man and worship you as a god, but seriously fuck you for making me love something so much.  
> I didn't know I could feel like this guys.  
> Seriously. There must be something wrong with me.
> 
> Also: this story is set BEFORE the events of part 1. I have a feeling I'll be jumping through time a lot during this series- just a warning ;)


End file.
